Thank You For Safekeeping My Wealth
For over two millennia, the tomb of Liu He was repeatedly targeted by grave robbers yet survived largely intact — a small miracle and, perhaps, a special grace shown to Liu He and to Nanchang, Jiangxi. Four main factors allowed the Marquis of Haihun’s immense wealth to be preserved:
First, “heaven’s favor.” The rescue excavation began after a 2011 looting attempt. The looters drove a shaft roughly 1.5 meters long, 0.8 meters wide, and 18 meters deep, piercing the mound, the outer chamber, and even the thick lowest planks of the inner coffin chamber. They aimed slightly left of center (to the west), assuming the coffin would lie at the central axis. What they did not expect: because Liu He died while serving as Marquis of Haihun, the tomb adopted a domestic layout — bedroom to the east, hall to the west — with an open space in the middle. Due to an ancient collapse, the chamber had filled with silt; the looters drilled down through the central open area, found nothing, and, pressed for time at dawn, abandoned the attempt rather than clearing the silted chamber. Cultural heritage and police authorities intervened that very day, averting near‑certain disaster. Later, archaeologists found the coffin in the northeast of the eastern “bedroom,” while large caches of gold cakes and horseshoe ingots lay to the west. Had the shaft shifted two meters east, it would have struck the coffin (with abundant gold, jade, and lacquer); shifted sixty centimeters west, it would have hit chests of gold beneath the couch boards. The mis-aim spared the tomb. Over ten old looting pits were also found in the mound. The site’s then-remote location in Haihun, Yuzhang Commandery, and the marquisate’s 168‑year continuity over four generations meant the cemetery was guarded before the fief was abolished; combined with the south’s relative freedom from war, the tomb eluded famed tomb raiders like Cao Cao’s “Touch‑Gold Officers.”
Second, “the earth helped.” Though the inner timber chamber is wooden, it was exquisitely made, structurally complex, and robust — representing the pinnacle of timber‑built underground palaces of the time — and thus hard to plunder with ancient techniques. Records note a major earthquake around Lake Poyang in 318 CE (Eastern Jin). The shock damaged the tomb and collapsed spaces, letting in mud and water that packed the chamber and greatly increased the labor required to clear it — ironically shielding the treasure within. The tomb hill, Guodunshan, became over centuries a local ancestral burial ground: new graves layered upon old, masking the precise location and deterring robbers.
Third, “water’s protection.” Poyang Lake acted as guardian. The shoreline of the former Pengli Marsh (today’s Poyang) shifted dynamically; at times the city of Haihun lay submerged for long periods as the lake advanced southward — “Haihun sank; Wucheng rose,” as the saying goes. Seasonal changes in the lake raised and lowered groundwater: at high water the timber chamber lay fully submerged; at low water it partially emerged. Lacking underwater methods, ancient looters would stop once they hit groundwater. Thus for two thousand years they left only holes in the mound and never reached the chamber, and the wealth endured.
Fourth, “human effort.” Local villagers protected the mound. In 2011, had discovery and reporting come a day later, the tomb might have been stripped bare. Thanks to timely action, we can today witness the astonishing tomb of Liu He and envision a world‑class heritage park centered on the Haihun marquisate ruins. Archaeologists then carried out scientific excavation and conservation, allowing these artifacts to present, after two millennia, a vivid and complete picture of Han history and culture.
Published at: Sep 9, 2025 · Modified at: Sep 10, 2025
